FTP API Specification V2.6

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FTP API Specification V2.6

June 2014

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1. Change history

Approximately six (6) months of changes are reflected.

Visit http://www.clickatell.com/downloads/ftp/Clickatell_FTP.pdf to check for updates to this document. Version Date Section Changes to Documentation

2.6 June 2014 General document review and update.

2.5 25 November 2013 9 Amended the parameter for ‘validity period’

2. Overview

This technical document is intended for developers who wish to use the Clickatell FTP API for sending messages and describes the various programming methods and commands used by developers when using this API.

The FTP API allows you to send SMS messages using an FTP client, it is best suited for bulk SMS sending. To send messages you must create a file containing a list of recipient phone numbers which you then submit to our FTP server. The Clickatell server will then deliver the message/s to the intended recipient while performing regular checks to ensure delivery is completed.

To use this API, you need to register at (http://www.clickatell.com/register/?product=1). When you add an FTP API to your Developers’ Central account you will be asked to name your API and choose a password. An api_id will be allocated to your API automatically. Once you have registered and been activated you will receive 10 free credits with which to test our service. Messages sent with these credits contain a pre-populated Clickatell message. You can test the API using these credits, and purchase credits to start sending your own, customised messages

It is recommended that you have an understanding of routing profiles before reading this document. Information is available at https://www.clickatell.com/resources/product-help/developers-central/routing-profile-guide/.

There are a number of different ways of gaining access to the gateway:

• SMTP - enabling a server or client generated email to be delivered as an SMS. • HTTP / HTTPS - submitting either a POST or GET to the API server.

• FTP – uploading a text file to our FTP Server.

• XML – posting to our gateway using XML over HTTP/S. • COM Object – for Windows based development. • SOAP – submit SOAP packets over HTTP/S.

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Testing the Clickatell Gateway

Clickatell offers a test number range which will assist in reducing testing costs. Messages sent to any number on this prefix will only be charged 1/3 of a credit. When testing the Clickatell gateway you can use the number 279991xxxxx (for South Africa) or 1999xxxxxxx (for the U.S.) where “xxxxx” represents any numeric string. The status of your messages will be returned.

We will cover the FTP method in this document. Additional documentation is available for the other methods.

3. Introduction

The product is intended for clients who can build up a text file, based on an existing database of recipients. A text file will be uploaded to Clickatell’s FTP site. This method is suitable for sending bulk messages by sending multiple messages with each FTP upload. It can either be a single message to all recipients or multiple personalised messages to each recipient. We recommend batch sizes of up to 50 000 messages per file. You may upload any number of such files to send messages.

The maximum size of your FTP folder on ftpupload.clickatell.com is 50MB which includes log files. Once this capacity limit is reached, you will need to delete files before new files may be added. Files are automatically deleted 48 hours after last modification. Each line in the text file may be a maximum of 8192 bytes

Important: If you are sending individual messages, it is recommended that you use one of our messaging API’s for real-time sending such as HTTP, REST, SOAP, XML or COM Object. For sending messages in bulk it is recommended that you use the SMTP or FTP API’s.

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4. Getting started

In order to use the Clickatell gateway you need a Clickatell account and at least one registered connection (API sub-product instance) between your application and our gateway. Each connection method is known as a sub-product (of our API product). You can follow these steps to get started:

Step 1 - register for a Clickatell account

If you do not already have a Developers’ Central account, you need to register for one. If you already have a Clickatell Central account, proceed to Step 2 for instructions on how to edit an API connection on your account.

• Go to https://www.clickatell.com/clickatell-products/online-products/sms-gateway-developers-central/, and click on the ‘Try Developers’ Central Now’ button.

• Select the Developers’ Central and the Account type you would like to use. • Enter your personal information to complete the registration form

• Accept Terms & Conditions

• Click the ‘Create my Account’ button - an email containing your login details will be sent to the email address you have provided.

Step 2 – Login to your account

When you have logged in you will be on the Clickatell Central landing page. You will receive 10 free credits which you can use to test the Clickatell Gateway. Please note that for security reasons these 10 credits contain pre-set Clickatell content.

A HTTP API will be added to your account for you. This will allow you to start testing the Clickatell Gateway immediately. You can purchase credits when you are ready to start sending personalised messages.

Step 3 – Adding an FTP API to your account

To add a FTP API to your account select APIs from the main menu and then select Setup a new API from the submenu. Click the Add FTP API button on the Setup API page that opens. You can then complete all the required details to configure your API.

After successfully adding a connection, a confirmation message will be displayed with a unique API ID and information on how to get started.

The getting started section displays the API connection parameters and authentication details. These details are required when connecting to the Clickatell gateway to send a message.

Note: For more information on managing your API connections within your Clickatell account see our API guide at http://www.clickatell.com/help-support/developer-apis/clickatell-api/

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5. Basic text file structure

To send an SMS message using the Clickatell FTP upload facility, the system interprets variables that you pass through in the uploaded text file. Each line in the text file may be a maximum of 8192 bytes and represents a variable in the form of:

variablename:value variablename:value variablename:value

We endeavour to strip any superfluous white space that may occur either side of the colon, however to avoid any erroneous characters appearing from the text file, we suggest that you keep to the format shown above.

Note: We accept plain-text files with DOS, MAC or UNIX line breaks.

5.1. Authentication within the text file to be uploaded

In order to deliver a message, the system needs to authenticate the request as coming from a valid source. Account details are therefore included when creating your text file to upload into your FTP folder. These account details are:

user: Your main Clickatell account username. api_id: This is the unique identifier of your API.

password: Your Developers’ Central account password.

You can upload multiple files on the same FTP account simultaneously.

A log file will generated as messages are processed. The log file will be available in your FTP directory and will have the same name as your uploaded file, with the added extension “.log”. See the section entitled LOG FILE FORMAT AND REPORTS for the format.

Example: api_id:1234 user:xxxxxxxxx password:xxxxxxxxxxx

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5.2. Send a message

Once you have set up the three authentication variables listed above, there are only a further two parameters that are required before you can send an SMS via FTP.

to:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This parameter sets the destination address. You may send the same SMS to one or more recipients in a single text file. There are two ways to achieve this: either using comma-delimited destination addresses (ensure that there are no spaces before or after the comma) or using a line for every address.

Example:

All on one line (up to a maximum of 8192 bytes)

to:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or multiple lines (the preferred method)

to:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You can optionally insert new lines /line breaks into your SMS message by using multiple ‘text’ parameters. Please note that line breaks (new lines) use up to two character spaces.

Example:

Text File: Resultant SMS: text:Line 1 Line 1

text:Line 2 Line 2 text:Line 3 Line 3

We are now ready to send an SMS. Example:

api_id:1234 user:xxxxxxxxx password:xxxxxxxxxxx to:1234567890,1234567890 text:This is my first test SMS

All parameters that can be used in the text file are discussed in detail under the section titled “Message Parameters in Detail”.

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6. Uploading to Clickatell FTP site

The files themselves should be uploaded to our FTP site: ftpupload.clickatell.com.

This can be accessed through a web browser that supports FTP, by typing in the following URL: ftp://ftpupload.clickatell.com

The FTP login (API ID) and FTP Password are used to log into your FTP folder on ftpupload.clickatell.com. This FTP password can be obtained/set-up by logging into your online account, going to API’s  Manage Api’s and then clicking the Edit link for your chosen FTP API.

login/username (api_id): This is the unique identifier of your FTP API. password: This is the password you set-up for the FTP API.

The maximum size of your FTP folder on ftpupload.clickatell.com is 50MB. Once this capacity limit is reached, you will need to delete files before new files may be added.

7. Log file format and reports

The log file consists of a single line for every mobile number that you have sent to, via your uploaded file. On each line there will be the destination address and either a unique message ID, or a validation error code with a description. The complete list of errors can be found in appendix A. Please note that a message ID (apiMsgId) only indicates that the system is able to process the message and is not an indication of successful delivery.

Example:

ID: b2ffff503d348a0af5335e72dc3f21b8 To:1234567890 ID: 5621234b34400b9974d80260211f2ee To:2345678901 ID: 799e4150adfcd8f02c512afc69f28bf1 To:3456789012 ID: 8e652dcd3e0ac225966a34312e01bc58 To:4567890123

Detailed reporting of messages sent and received can also be viewed and exported from within your online account.

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8. Message parameters

8.1. Table of parameters

There are a variety of messaging and SMS features supported by the gateway, which can be activated by including a number of additional parameters. These parameters include those in the table below. Parameters are case-sensitive.

Name Parameter

name Short description

Default value

Restricted values

API ID api_id The value for this mandatory

parameter can be found logging in online and going to APIs 

Manage APIs

Username user The username you specified.

Password password Your Developers’ Central account password.

Destination address

to The number of the handset to which the message must be delivered. The number should be in international number format.

No ‘00’ prefix or leading “+” symbol should be used.

Text text The text content of the message.

Note that some characters take up two characters because of GSM encoding standards Go to http://forums.cli ckatell.com/clic katell search for ‘Why do some characters take two spaces?’ Source address from The source/sender address that

the message will appear to come from also known as “Sender ID”. These must be registered within your online account and approved by us before they may be used. MO numbers rented from us do not require approval.

gateway assigned number A valid international format number between 1 and 16 characters long, or an 11 character alphanumeric string. Enable callback callback Enables you to receive message

delivery statuses via an HTTP, SOAP or XML callback which is posted to a URL of yours using the GET or POST method. This is done every time a message status is updated.

0 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 Read detailed description of parameter.

Delivery time deliv_time Delays delivery of SMS to mobile device in minutes relative to the time at which the SMS was received by our gateway. This should be greater than 10 minutes for best effect. Smaller time frames may be delivered too soon.

The upper limit is 7 days, or 10080 minutes.

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Restricted values Concatenation concat Specifies the maximum number of

message parts available for the message.

3 1,2,3

Maximum credits max_credits Overrides the maximum charge specified online in “profiles”. It works within the bounds of the profiles. In other words a profile must exist for the maximum credit that you set.

As per profiles

0.8,1,1.5,2,2.5,3

Required features req_feat Allows you to set the features which must be included when a message is sent. If the route does not support the features which you set as ‘required’ the message will fail.

Note: The use of this parameter could increase the cost per message if a more expensive gateway is used.

Read detailed description of parameter.

Delivery queue queue Delivers the message through one of three queues assigned to each client account. Messages in the highest priority queue will be delivered first. 3 1, 2,3 1 is highest priority. Gateway escalation

escalate Prompts an escalation to an alternative route, if messages are queued on the least-cost route.

0 0 - off 1 - Escalate immediately to an alternative route if messages are queued on the least-cost route. Mobile originated mo This is only applicable to clients

that have subscribed to a two-way messaging service. We route via a pre-defined carrier to enable the ability for a reply to be received back. 0 0 – Off. We use our normal routing rules. 1 – Enable Reply.

Client message ID cliMsgId Client message ID defined by user for message tracking.

Up to 32 alphanumeric characters. No spaces. Unicode message unicode Two digit language code. Convert

your text to Unicode [UCS-2 encoding]. See

http://www.Unicode.org/.

0 0 – No Unicode 1 – Send as Unicode.

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Restricted values Message type msg_type Message types are associated

with a structure that defines the fields of the message; e.g. logos and ringtones. See Message Types for more information.

SMS_TE XT

User data header udh Informs the mobile handset of the type of data and data length of the user data part of an SMS

message. The UDH header is used in conjunction with Binary content to define message types. See 8 bit messaging for more information.

Data data The data content of a message, if

the UDH component is set manually.

Validity period validity The validity period in minutes relative to the time at which the SMS was received by our gateway. The message will not be delivered if it is still queued on our gateway after this time period.

1440 minutes (24 hours) Set value in X minutes from 1 – 1440 minutes.

Additional parameters are also available to the FTP API:

Restricted values

CSV Line csv Used in conjunction with text

parameter to handle

personalised batch messaging.

The mobile number must be the first value in the CSV field. Delimiter delimiter Specify a specific character to

be used to delimit values in the CSV field. Useful if certain values contain a comma. If not set, defaults to a comma.

,

CSV Template csvtemplate Used in conjunction with text parameter to handle

personalised batch messaging where additional message parameters need to be set on a message by message basis URL encoded text urltext Useful for special Greek

characters, etc.

Scheduled Time scheduled_time Specify when a message gets delivered.

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8.2. Message parameters in detail

Destination address (to)

SMS messages need to be sent in the standard international format, with country code followed by number. No leading zero to the number and no special characters such as "+" or spaces must be used. For example, a number in the UK being 07901231234 should be changed to 447901231234.

If the optional API setting titled ‘Replace the leading zero with correct country code’ is enabled for the API in your Developers’ Central account, any mobile numbers starting with zero will have the zero stripped and replaced with the international dialling code.

Parameter: to:xxxxxxxxxxx Text

This is the default parameter that is used to add message content. A single text message can contain up to 160 characters or 140 bytes.

Source address (from)

The source address (from), also known as the sender ID, can be either a valid international format number between 1 and 16 characters long, or an 11 character alphanumeric string. These must be registered within your online account and approved by us before they may be used. MO numbers rented from us do not require approval

Note that characters such as spaces, punctuation, Unicode and other special characters may not always be supported to all destinations and could interfere with your delivery. We suggest that you refrain from using such characters on the source address. The use of an alphanumeric source address with 8-bit messaging may cause message failure. This service is not guaranteed across all mobile networks and may interfere with delivery to certain handsets.

Note: To ensure that this feature is supported when delivering your message, the required features (req_feat) parameter for this feature must be set.

Parameter: from:xxxxxxxxxx

Delivery acknowledgement (deliv_ack)

In order to determine whether an SMS has been received by a handset or not, we request delivery acknowledgement for every message we send. The ability to receive reliable delivery acknowledgements varies between mobile networks. Please test to a specific mobile network first, before assuming that you will receive handset acknowledgments for messages that are delivered.

If a GSM handset is ‘absent’, e.g. switched off or out of coverage, the SMS will be delivered according to a retry cycle once the handset is back in coverage. A delivery receipt will only be returned if and when the retry is delivered. If the validity period or retry cycle (typically 24 hours) is exceeded, the SMS will fail and show ‘Error Delivering Message’ or status 8.

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Callback System (callback)

Final or intermediary statuses are passed back by the API depending on the callback value set in the original post. This is done by means of:

 HTTP GET  HTTP POST  JSON POST  XML GET  XML POST  SOAP GET  SOAP POST

The variables returned are api id, apiMsgId, cliMsgId, to, timestamp, from, status and charge.

Validation of Callback URL

The URL entered in your Clickatell central account to receive 'SMS Status notifications' is validated to check if a callback can be completed. The URL must begin with either http:// (non-encrypted) or https:// (encrypted). If the callback URL is invalid, a message is displayed indicating an Invalid URL.

Callback retry interval

The MT callback system will make 8 attempts to deliver a callback to your specified callback URL. For Example:

1. 2 minutes after the original attempt 2. 4 minutes after last retry

3. 8 minutes after last retry 4. 16 minutes after last retry 5. 32 minutes after last retry 6. 64 minutes after last retry 7. 128 minutes after last retry

8. 3 days after last retry (max retries reached) Optional Callback username and password

An optional “username” and “password” can be set in the preferences section of your API product. This username and passwords is not the same as your Clickatell username and password but is a setting of your choice to add additional security.

Callback

value Message status types returned Message status code returned 0 No message status returned.

1 Returns only intermediate statuses. 003

2 Returns only final statuses of a message. 004, 005, 007, 009, 010, 012 3 Returns both intermediate and final statuses of a

message.

003, 004, 005, 007, 009, 010, 012

4 _{Returns only error statuses of a message.} 005, 007, 009, 010, and 012 5 Returns both intermediate and error statuses of a

message.

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6 Returns both final and error statuses of a message.

004, 005, 007, 009, 010, 012

7 Returns both intermediate, final and error statuses of a message.

003, 004, 005, 007, 009, 010, 012

Examples

- HTTP

Sample callback to your callback URL using an HTTP get:

https://www.yoururl.com/script.asp?api_id=12345&apiMsgId=996f364775e24b8432f45d77da8eca47&cliM sgId=abc123&timestamp=1218007814&to=279995631564&from=27833001171&status=003&charge=0.3 00000

- JSON

Example of an MT callback using a JSON post: { "data":{ "apiId" : 123456, "apiMessageId" : "abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890", "clientMessageId" : "MyMessageId", "timestamp" : 2147483647, "to" : "27821234567", "from" : "SenderId", "charge" : 1.0, "messageStatus" : "003" } } - XML

The following data is sent in XML MT callbacks in a parameter called ‘data’:

<?xml version="1.0"?> <callback> <apiMsgId>996411ad91fa211e7d17bc873aa4a41d</apiMsgId> <cliMsgId></cliMsgId> <timestamp>1218008129</timestamp> <to>279995631564</to> <from>27833001171</from> <charge>0.300000</charge> <status>004</status> </callback>

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MsgId><timestamp>1218008129</timestamp><to>279995631564</to><from>27833001171</from><char ge>0.300000</charge><status>004</status></callback>

- SOAP

With the SOAP callback method, a SOAP packet will be sent with a parameter called ‘data’. Below is an example packet that will be sent to you via GET or POST.

Example of a SOAP packet that will be sent to you via GET or POST:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>

<SOAP-ENV:Envelope SOAP-ENV:encodingStyle="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/" xmlns:SOAP-ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"

xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:SOAP-ENC="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/" xmlns:tns="mt_callback"> <SOAP-ENV:Body> <tns:mt_callback xmlns:tns="mt_callback"> <api_id xsi:type="xsd:int">1234</api_id> <apimsgid xsi:type="xsd:string">2e838df2ee3ea418272ae05aaf84ce5d</apimsgid> <climsgid xsi:type="xsd:string">abc123</climsgid> <to xsi:type="xsd:string">27999123456</to> <from xsi:type="xsd:string">27999000224</from> <timestamp xsi:type="xsd:int">1213690834</timestamp> <status xsi:type="xsd:int">003</status> <charge xsi:type="xsd:float">0.300000</charge> </tns:mt_callback> </SOAP-ENV:Body> </SOAP-ENV:Envelope>

This is an example callback URL that will be sent to your application:

http://www.yoursite.com/your_url.php?data=”<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?><SOAP-ENV:Envelope SOAP-ENV:encodingStyle="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/" xmlns:SOAP-ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

xmlns:SOAP-ENC="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/" xmlns:tns="mt_callback"><SOAP-ENV:Body> <tns:mt_callback xmlns:tns="mt_callback"><api_id xsi:type="xsd:int">1234</api_id>

<apimsgid xsi:type="xsd:string">2e838df2ee3ea418272ae05aaf84ce5d</apimsgid><climsgid xsi:type="xsd:string">abc123</climsgid><to xsi:type="xsd:string">27999123456</to> <from xsi:type="xsd:string">27999000224</from><timestamp xsi:type="xsd:int">1213690834</timestamp><status xsi:type="xsd:int">003</status> <charge xsi:type="xsd:float">0.300000</charge></tns:mt_callback></SOAP-ENV:Body></SOAP-ENV:Envelope>”

Delivery time (deliv_time)

The delivery of an SMS message may be delayed by setting an amount of time in minutes relative to the time at which it was received by our gateway. We will store the message until the required time frame has elapsed. The maximum delay time is 10080 minutes or 7 days.

Parameter: deliv_time:120

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Concatenation (concat)

If this value is set to 1, 2 or 3 the message will span across 1, 2 or 3 SMS messages where applicable. One text SMS will be sent for every 160 characters or 140 bytes. If a message is concatenated, it reduces the number of characters contained in each message by 7. With 8-bit concatenated messages, each SMS can support up to 140 bytes including the UDH headers.

For more information on characters that require two character places please visit:

http://www.clickatell.com/help-support/frequently-asked-questions/ and search for ‘Why do some characters take two spaces?’

Please be aware that a single Unicode SMS can only contain a maximum of 70 characters. If a Unicode message is concatenated, it reduces the number of characters contained in each message part by 7. Values set are:

Value Status

1 No concatenation: only 1 message.

2 Concatenate a maximum of 2 messages.

3 Default - Concatenate a maximum of 3 messages.

N Concatenate a maximum of N messages.

(Delivery is dependent on mobile and gateway. A maximum of 3 is recommended. The maximum amount of messages that can be concatenated is 35).

Parameter: concat:2

Maximum credits (max_credits)

This parameter overrides the maximum charge associated with message delivery, as set by the profiles selected within your client account after logging in online. This parameter can be used to limit the cost of a message to a particular value and is bound by the maximum credit value specified in your profiles.

A valid API message ID can still be returned for messages that are not delivered as a result of the maximum credits value set. These messages will have a status of routing error (009).

The credit value in this parameter can be set to any amount of credits. To set your delivery profile, go to Manage account  Account overview and click the link Control the routing of messages located in the section titled Account Type.

Parameter: max_credits:4

Required features (req_feat)

This parameter specifies the features that must be present in order for message delivery to occur. If all features are not present, the message will not be delivered. This prevents SMS messages arriving at a destination via the least-cost gateway, without certain features. This would, for instance, prevent the dropping of a sender ID.

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This means that we will not route messages through a gateway that cannot support the required features you have set. For certain message types, we always set the required feature bitmask where relevant. These are FEAT_8BIT, FEAT_UDH, FEAT_UCS2 and FEAT_CONCAT.

This parameter is set using a combined decimal number to refer to the additional required features. E.g.: 32 + 512 = 544 – Numeric sender ID and Flash SMS both required.

The value you would set to ensure that Flash and numeric sender ID are both supported, would therefore be 544.

To ensure that delivery acknowledgment and alphanumeric IDs are supported you would use the value 8240 (16 + 32 + 8192).

Hex value Decimal Feature Description

0x0001 1 FEAT_TEXT Text – set by default.

0x0002 2 FEAT_8BIT 8-bit messaging – set by default.

0x0004 4 FEAT_UDH UDH (Binary) - set by default.

0x0008 8 FEAT_UCS2 UCS2 / Unicode – set by default.

0x0010 16 FEAT_ALPHA Alpha source address (from parameter).

0x0020 32 FEAT_NUMER Numeric source address (from parameter).

0x0200 512 FEAT_FLASH Flash messaging.

0x2000 8192 FEAT_DELIVACK Delivery acknowledgments.

0x4000 16384 FEAT_CONCAT Concatenation – set by default.

Parameter: req_feat:### Delivery queue

Setting this parameter will assign the message to one of three queues assigned to each user account. This sets the priority of a message sent to us, relative to other messages sent from the same user

account. Messages in queue number 1, will always be delivered before messages in queue number 2 and 3, while messages in the 3rd queue, will have the lowest priority (relative to queues 1 and 2).

This is useful when delivering, for example, a single high priority message while you have a large batch going through that same account. The large batch will be queued through queue number 3 (default), and urgent alerts (sent through queue 1), will be delivered ahead of those messages in the batch (queue 3), regardless of when they are actually sent to us.

Values set are:

1 Use first / primary user queue (highest priority).

2 Use second user queue.

3 Use third user queue (lowest priority) - Default status. Parameter:

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Gateway escalation (escalate)

By default, the message router will select the lowest cost route (matching features and reliability) that is available for a given destination. This parameter ensures that, should a message be delayed due to gateway congestion or some other reason on the initial gateway selected by our router, then alternative routes that match the required features will be sought.

This is done by moving through the available gateways in order of increasing cost, up to the maximum charge set by the user either using the parameter that defines the maximum credits or based on the profiles selected.

When urgent and high priority messages are sent, they should be posted with escalate set to 1 (on), combined with a high maximum credit value to ensure that the greatest number of gateways are available. Values set are:

0 Off – Default value.

1 On - Escalate immediately to an alternative route if the messages are queued on the least-cost route.

Parameter: escalate:1

Mobile originated (mo)

This parameter is only used when a message is sent to a handset and a reply is expected.

PLEASE NOTE: This parameter is only valid for clients that have signed up and paid for our two-way messaging service. An alternative to our least-cost gatetwo-way may be used, which could result in a higher cost per message. Please email Clickatell support for pricing or view online.

When sending a normal MT message to a handset and you expect a reply to your registered MO number, please set the mo parameter to “1”.

Values to set are:

0 Off - Default status. We use the normal routing feature.

1 Enables reply ability. We route via a pre-defined carrier to enable the ability to reply.

It is important that the user specifies the correct from parameter together with this parameter. If no from parameter is specified, we will use a default originator number as set by Clickatell. You will NOT receive these replies.

If you specify the originator (the purchased MO number), then we will route the message such that it can be replied to by the recipient. This reply will be sent to you.

Parameter: mo:1

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Client message ID (climsgid)

This parameter is set by the user to enable internal message tracking. It allows the user to set their own tracking ID for each message. Once set for a given message, this may be used in place of the Clickatell issued API message ID (apimsgid) for querying message.

A client message ID (climsgid) may be any combination of alphanumeric characters excluding spaces. A maximum of 32 characters may be used.

Parameter: climsgid:xxxx Unicode (unicode)

If this value is set to 1, the text field must contain two-byte Unicode. Each SMS can handle a maximum of 70 characters. Each Unicode character must be hex-encoded. More information is available at http://www.Unicode.org/.

Note: When using the batch send facility for delivering Unicode messages, it is not possible to substitute variables into the message content. This is only possible with Germanic characters.

Values set are:

0 Off - default status.

1 On - delivers the text as two-byte Unicode.

We provide a converter to convert text to Unicode within your client account online. Go to “Converters” from within your account online.

Parameter: unicode:1

E.g. ΩΨΘ

becomes: text:03A903A80398 Message type (msg_type)

A wide variety of messages can be sent through our gateway. We have pre-defined a number of SMS message-types in the API, so that you do not have to set the UDH (user data header) manually. You may optionally set the UDH rather than using one of the message types set below.

For non-Nokia message types (EMS, etc.), please generate your own UDH and data according to the manufacturers specifications of the message type you wish to send.

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Values set are:

Value Description

SMS_TEXT This is the default message type. It is optional to specify this parameter.

SMS_FLASH To send an SMS that displays immediately upon arrival at the phone.

SMS_NOKIA_OLOGO Send an operator logo to a Nokia handset. SMS_NOKIA_GLOGO Send a group logo to a Nokia handset.

SMS_NOKIA_PICTURE Send a picture message to certain Nokia handsets. SMS_NOKIA_RINGTONE Send a ringtone to a Nokia handset.

SMS_NOKIA_RTTL Send an RTTTL format ringtone to Nokia handsets. SMS_NOKIA_CLEAN Remove operator logo from a Nokia handset. SMS_NOKIA_VCARD Send a business card to a Nokia handset. SMS_NOKIA_VCAL Send an event calendar to a Nokia handset. Command:

Please see the messaging examples at the end of this document. Validity period (validity)

A message may be given a time frame for which it is valid. After this period the message will expire. This parameter takes an amount of time in minutes relative to the time at which the message was received by our gateway. If the message is queued on our gateway for a period exceeding the validity period set then a routing error of 115 will be returned. The default validity period is 1440 minutes (24 hours).

Note: The validity period is not passed on to the upstream gateway.

Parameter: validity:120

URL encoded text

Used instead of the data or text parameter, the urltext parametercan be used to send URL encoded text, which will be decoded back to normal text before the message is delivered to the phone.

It is possible that text could consist of characters that will confuse email-clients. To prevent possible errors, the URL encoding scheme translates all "special" characters to their corresponding hexadecimal codes. These special characters include control characters (carriage returns, line feeds, etc.), certain alphanumeric symbols (%, ', ", #, &, ?, =, /, :), and other characters (Greek Bulgarian and Cyrilic characters, etc).

For example, the string "Your URL encoded text!” could be sent as below. Parameter:

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Scheduled Time

The purpose of this parameter is to allow you to specify when you want a message to be delivered. This parameter is different to the existing deliv_time parameter as it does not specify a delay time, but a delivery time.

The new parameter will accept a delivery time in one of the following formats: 1. Unix timestamp

2. Date in time in UTC format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ssZ) Examples:

1) Unix timestamp:

scheduled_time:1233133393

2) UTC date format:

scheduled_time:2009-01-30T14:00:00Z

The same limitations of the deliv_time parameter apply here: 1. The maximum scheduled time range is 7 days

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9. Batch messaging

This facility enables one to do high volume delivery and server-side message merging. It offers the end-user the ability to define all elements common to a batch, and then send only the parameters that change on a message by message basis. The following parameters are used for batch messaging.

Default

value Restricted values

CSV Line csv Each csv line has a mobile

number followed by a list of field values that are used to customise a text message. The text parameter value acts as a template with placeholders inserted into the text which are replaced by these field values when the message is sent.

The mobile number must be the first value in the CSV field.

CSV template

csvtemplate Used in conjunction with the

text and csv parameters to handle personalised batch messaging where additional message parameters (such as delivery time) need to be set on a message by message basis. These parameter values are added after the mobile number in the CSV Line.

Delimiter delimiter Specifies a specific character to be used to delimit values in the CSV parameter field values. Useful if certain values contain a comma.

, (comma)

If you use the default delimiter you will not be able to use a comma in your field values. If you are using a TAB character, there must be no white space either before or after the TAB. CSV line parameter (csv)

csv:mobile_number[delimiter]field-value[delimiter]field-value[delimiter]field-value etc.

Where field-value is the data to be inserted into the template, and [delimiter] is the value as determined by the delimiter parameter.

Placeholders may be inserted within the message body itself. These will take the form of #field1# through to #fieldn#. See example below. If you wish to customise the whole message on each csv line, you would then use:

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Example: api_id:1234 user:xxxxxxxxx password:xxxxxxxxxxx

text:Hi #field1#, your balance is #field2#, please come to the office on #field3# delimiter:|

csv:1234567890|Fred|€15.50|Mondays,Wednesdays,Fridays csv:1234567890|Jane|€299.45|Tuesdays,Thursdays,Saturdays

Note: If a ‘,’ (comma) was used as the default delimiter, then it would only have passed through ‘Mondays’ as the value of field3 for Fred and ‘Tuesdays’ for Jane.

CSV template parameter (csvtemplate)

csvtemplate:[parameter-1],[ parameter-2],[parameter-n] Example:

csvtemplate:deliv_time,cliMsgId,validity etc.

These values would then appear on the csv line immediately after the mobile number. The field-values for each of the placeholders that you have inserted in your text (text parameter) are then appended to the csv line.

Format: csv:mobile_number [optional csvtemplate parameters] template_placeholder_parameters Example:

api_id:1234 user:xxxxxxxxx password:xxxxxxxxxxx

csvtemplate:deliv_time|cliMsgId|validity

csv:1234567890|10|id_1|60|Fred|€15.50|Mondays,Wednesdays,Fridays csv:1234567890|40|id_2|60|Jane|€299.45|Tuesdays,Thursdays,Saturdays

A maximum of 50 000 csv lines can be uploaded at one time as long as the file size remains under the folder size limit. If larger volumes of messages must be sent then the file should be split and uploaded one file at a time. The files in the ftp folder should be deleted before the next file is uploaded.

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10. 8-BIT messaging

Through the FTP interface, one is also able to send 8-bit messages. These are most often used for ringtones and logos, but one can also send vCards, vCalendar appointments and EMS messages. When sending 8-bit messages, you need to set the user data header (UDH) of the SMS as well as sending the data. If you are comfortable with the creation of your own UDH, we also enable you to set it directly using the udh parameter. To simplify the process, we have provided a number of pre-defined message types (see the msg_type parameter).

With the standard text parameter, line breaks are automatically inserted. The parameter data, is thus used for 8-bit messaging.

Example: api_id:1234 user:xxxxxxxxx password:xxxxxxxxxxx to:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx msg_type:SMS_NOKIA_RINGTONE data:024A3A5585E195B198040042D9049741A69761781B6176156174288B525D85E0A26C24C49A617 628930BB125E055856049865885D200

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11. Message examples

Here are some examples that demonstrate how to use the API. All values in these examples should be replaced by your own values.

11.1. Simple examples

Standard text file

api_id:xxxxx user:xxxxx password:xxxxx to:1234567890

text:This is my first ftp to SMS message Flash SMS with sender ID

api_id:xxxxx user:xxxxx password:xxxxx to:1234567890

text:Sending a flash message with sender id. msg_type:SMS_FLASH

from:ME

Example with HTTP delivery back and callback request set api_id:xxxxx

user:xxxxx password:xxxxx to:1234567890

text:Sending a message requesting a delivery acknowledgment. deliv_ack:1

callback:3

11.2. Batch message examples

Sending the same message to multiple recipients api_id:xxxxx

user:xxxxx password:xxxxx

to:1234567890,9397433991,4387347839 text:This is my first email to SMS message

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Sending a personalised message to multiple recipients api_id:xxxxx

user:xxxxx password:xxxxx

csv:447901234567,Mary - your appointment is at 9:15 on Saturday 14th May csv:447902345678,Craig - your appointment is at 14:30 on Wednesday 18th May Configuring individual messages in a batch

api_id:1234 user:xxxxxxxxx password:xxxxxxxxxxx

csvtemplate:deliv_time|cliMsgId|validity

csv:1234567890|10|id_1|60|Fred|€15.50|Mondays,Wednesdays,Fridays csv:1234567890|40|id_2|60|Jane|€299.45|Tuesdays,Thursdays,Saturdays

11.3. 8-bit SMS examples

Note: Setting an alphanumeric Sender ID (from parameter) when sending 8-bit messages may result in message failure. Sending a ringtone api_id:xxxxx user:xxxxx password:xxxxx to:1234567890 msg_type:SMS_NOKIA_RINGTONE data:024A3A5585E195B198040042D9049741A69761781B61761561728 data:8B525D85E0A26C24C49A617628930BB125E055856049865885D200 Sending an operator logo

api_id:xxxxx user:xxxxx password:xxxxx to:1234567890 msg_type:SMS_NOKIA_OLOGO data:00480e01ffffffffffffffffff8000000000000000018000000000000000018f1b30f1b30f1b30f9f9ff9f9ff9f9ff9f

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Removing an operator logo api_id:xxxxx user:xxxxx password:xxxxx to:1234567890 msg_type:SMS_NOKIA_CLEAN data:00 Sending a VCARD api_id:xxxxx user:xxxxx password:xxxxx to:1234567890 msg_type:SMS_NOKIA_VCARD data:BEGIN%3AVCARD%0D%0AVERSION%3A2.1%0D%0AN%3ABloggs%3BJoe%0D%0ATEL%3BPR EF%3A%2B1234567890%0D%0AEND%3AVCARD%0D%0A

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12. Appendix A: Error codes

The following list of error messages are generated by the Clickatell gateway during a validation phase before we accept the message. These error messages are sent back to your application. There will be no message charge if these errors are generated when sending a message. Data regarding messages that do not pass initial validation will not be included in your Clickatell Central reports.

Number Description Detail

001 Authentication failed Authentication details are incorrect.

002 Unknown username or

password

Authorization error, unknown user name or incorrect password.

003 Session ID expired The session ID has expired after a pre-set time of inactivity. 005 Missing session ID Missing session ID attribute in request.

007 IP Lockdown violation You have locked down the API instance to a specific IP address and then sent from an IP address different to the one you have set.

101 Invalid or missing parameters One or more required parameters are missing or invalid. 102 Invalid user data header The format of the user data header is incorrect.

103 Unknown API message ID The API message ID is unknown.

104 Unknown client message ID The client ID message that you are querying does not exist. 105 Invalid destination address The destination address you are attempting to send to is

invalid.

106 Invalid source address The sender address that is specified is incorrect.

107 Empty message The message has no content

108 Invalid or missing API ID The API message ID is either incorrect or has not been included in the API call.

109 Missing message ID This can be either a client message ID or API message ID. For example when using the stop message command.

113 Maximum message parts

exceeded

The text message component of the message is greater than the permitted 160 characters (70 Unicode characters). Select

concat equal to 1,2,3-N to overcome this by splitting the message across multiple messages.

114 Cannot route message This implies that the gateway is not currently routing messages to this network prefix. Please email [email protected] with the mobile number in question.

115 Message expired Message has expired before we were able to deliver it to the upstream gateway. No charge applies

116 Invalid Unicode data The format of the unicode data entered is incorrect. 120 Invalid delivery time The format of the delivery time entered is incorrect.

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128 Number delisted This error may be returned when a number has been delisted. 201 Invalid batch ID The batch ID which you have entered for batch messaging is

not valid.

202 No batch template The batch template has not been defined for the batch command.

301 No credit left Insufficient credits

302 Max allowed credit You have exceeded the maximum credit amount that you have set for messaging.

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13. Appendix B: Message statuses

These are message statuses that are generated after the Clickatell gateway has accepted the message for delivery. Data regarding messages passing initial validation and accepted for delivery will be included in your Clickatell Central reports.

Number Hex Description Detail

001 0x001 Message unknown The message ID is incorrect or reporting is delayed.

002 0x002 Message queued The message could not be delivered and has

been queued for attempted redelivery. 003 0x003 Delivered to gateway Delivered to the upstream gateway or network

(delivered to the recipient).

004 0x004 Received by recipient Confirmation of receipt on the handset of the recipient.

005 0x005 Error with message There was an error with the message, probably caused by the content of the message itself.

006 0x006 User cancelled message

delivery

The message was terminated by a user (stop message command) or by our staff.

007 0x007 Error delivering message An error occurred delivering the message to the handset.

008 0x008 OK Message received by gateway.

009 0x009 Routing error An error occurred while attempting to route the message.

010 0x00A Message expired Message has expired before we were able to

deliver it to the upstream gateway. No charge applies.

011 0x00B Message queued for later

delivery

Message has been queued at the gateway for delivery at a later time (delayed delivery).

012 0x00C Out of credit The message cannot be delivered due to a lack of

funds in your account. Please re-purchase credits.

014 0x00E Maximum MT limit

exceeded

The allowable amount for MT messaging has been exceeded.

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14. Terminology

 Receive Messages: A message sent (originating) from a mobile handset to an application via Clickatell.

 Sending Messages: A message sent from an application to (terminating on) a mobile handset via Clickatell.

 Premium rated message: A mobile user is charged a premium for the message that they send to a particular short or long code. This service is not available in all regions; please contact an Account Manager for more information.

 Revenue share: This refers to the portion of the premium charge associated with a premium rated message, which is passed on to the content provider.

 Content provider: This is the Clickatell customer who is offering one or more services that are usually premium rated SMS system.

 Customer: A registered Clickatell customer utilising the Clickatell API for message delivery and receipt.

 Sender ID: The “from” address that appears on the user’s handset. This is also known as the message originator or source address. A Sender ID must be registered within your account and approved by us before it may be used.

 Destination address: The mobile number/MSISDN of the handset to which the message must be delivered. The number should be in international number format, e.g. country code + local mobile number, excluding the leading zero (0).

 Source address: See ‘Sender ID’ above.

 Short code: A short number which is common across all the operators for a specific region.  Subscriber: The mobile network subscriber who owns the mobile number (MSISDN) which will

send or receive SMSs, or be billed for premium rated services.

 Upstream gateway: A network operator, third party or our own short message service centre (SMSC).

15. Contact details

Phone: +27 21 910 7700 Fax: +27 21 910 7701 Website: www.clickatell.com

Help URL: http://support.clickatell.com/index.php Support: [email protected]

Info: [email protected] Sales: [email protected]

FTP API Specification V2.6